René Wyssen Deputy Director and Teacher at the Primary School of Monthey, Switzerland

The Rural Summit 2017, Eindhoven, 23.03.2017

Part I: The Swiss context

Part II: The AlpConnectar model

Part III: Experiences & outcomes

A multilingual and multicultural country

Schweiz

Suisse

Svizzera

Svizra

Switzerland

Part I:

The Swiss context

Switzerland is a

multilingual country.

Four national languages:

German, French, Italian

and Romansh.

Many dialects in each

linguistic region.

Many other languages

brought by immigrants:

Spanish, Italian,

Portuguese, Albanian,

Serbian, Turkish, Kurdish,

etc.

English: in banks, industry,

exports, tourism.

Languages spoken in Switzerland (2010)

Inhabitants of 19 out of 26

cantons speak Swiss-German

dialects.

Inhabitants of some regions of

Romandie (French-Speaking

Region) are bilingual.

Canton Graubünden is

trilingual: German, Italian,

Romansh.

Many foreigners now living in

Switzerland continue to use

their native language.

Part II:

The AlpConnectar model

• Digital technologies and the internet as a learning resource

• Language learning – key topic in the public education discourse in

Switzerland, a country with 4 national languages

• ICT (Information & Communication Technology) provides an effective environment for digital literacy development

• 7 primary school classes (age 9-12)

from different linguistic regions

• Connected with each other cloud and videoconferencing + data protection

• Language Learning in an authentic situation

How it works

GRIGIONI (it)

L1 Italian

L2 German

WALLIS (dt)

L1 German

L2 French

GRAUBÜNDEN (dt)

L1 German

L2 Italian

TICINO

L1 Italian

L2 French

VALAIS (fr)

L1 French

L2 German

VIDEO

VIDEO

Video

Objectives

• Encourage L2 communication skills

– reading, listening, writing and speaking

• Reduce inhibitions in L2 direct communication

• Enhance L2 learning motivation

• Increase awareness of cultural diversity and

affinities among the different regions of

Switzerland

• Enhance digital skills

Study method

Design

• First survey: Autumn 2015 (t1)

• Second survey: May/June 2016 (t2)

• Students and Teachers

• Interviews and Questionnaire

Sample

• 7 Teachers

• 123 Students

19

Part III:

Experiences & outcomes

• Positive results for both children and

teachers

– Increase of L2 learning motivation

– Reduction of inhibitions in L2 communication

– Increase in awareness of cultural diversity

Scharans Sonvico - Lugano Monthey

Canton: Graubünden

Mountain village

820 inhabitants

Language: German

Canton: Ticino

Village close to the city

1,945 inhabitants

Language: Italian

Canton: Valais

Industrial city

17,644 inhabitants

Language: French

Nationalities: 87

Objectives and expected outcomes Thanks to digital technologies

• Provide opportunities for authentic second

language communication with pupils from other

linguistic regions.

• Stimulate communication skills: oral and written

production, oral and written comprehension.

• Dare to communicate with peers from other

linguistic regions.

• Nurture the desire and pleasure of learning to

communicate and share.

• Provide linguistic knoweldge in the second

language.

• Understanding cultural differences among Swiss

regions.

The triangular model connects the three linguistic regions.

Pupils in 7th grade are aged 10-11.

Grade 7 (7H/7P) Pupils L1 L2

Scharans GR 12 German Italian

Sonvico TI 17 Italian French

Monthey VS 21 French German

• Connected with the curriculum

• Connected with manuals and official learning

materials

• Close to daily life

Your life – my life

Your heroes – my heroes

A regional recipe Art and culture

Traditional holidays

Different media of expression (oral+written) to support:

motivation, excitement, enthusiasm

and an ideal learning atmosphere

Theatre Poetry Singing

Mime Drawing Photography

Reading Video Interviews

Reportage Music Portfolio

Month Activity August Present project to parents and pupils

Choose topics

Start using digital devices

September Introduce yourself

Introduce classmates

Country of origin

October Introduce my family

Present our class daily schedule

November Present our class weekly schedule

Present monthly and yearly activities

December Rehearse the Christmas carol (4 languages)

Present your Canton and its features

January My birthday: date, invitations, etc.

Names, colours, etc.

February Introduce one person you know: artist, sports star, etc.

Interview a personality from the region

March Food and drink from my region

My favourite food and drink

April Write one or more regional recipes

Present the recipe to the two other classes

May Interview a cook and make a video

Prepare for meeting the other classes

June Face-to-face 3-day meeting.

Sharing communication activities, games, sports and

meals.

Travel

Do things together

Spend time together

A face-to-face meeting

Spend free time together

Share meals

Write a letter to parents

with the help of peers

Write a text

Train together

Stay focused

Work with care

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Overall results

• Positive results for both children and

teachers

– Increase of L2 learning motivation

– Reduction of inhibitions in L2 communication

– Increase of awareness of cultural diversity

• Ho imparato ad essere responsabile e ho imparato molto meglio il

francese perché correggevano la pronuncia (Sofia)

• J’ai appris à communiquer avec les Tessinois malgré le peu de mots de

vocabulaire. J’ai appris a ̀ mieux communiquer en langue 2 (Mariana)

• Ho imparato che le telecamere non fanno cosi ̀ tanta paura, inoltre ho

migliorato il francese (Dorian)

• J’ai tout d’abord appris a ̀ vaincre ma timidite ́ de parler avec nos

correspondants (Mandon)

• Questa esperienza è stata bellissima perché è bello conoscere nuovi

amici che vengono da città diverse e conoscere lingue che tu non

conosci (Anastasia).

• En faisant comme ça, ça me redonne envie d’apprendre l’allemand

(Océane)

• Ho imparato a farmi capire con i gesti e collaborare di più con i gruppi

(Andrea)

Impressions

35

Results summary

Positive results on digital skills:

• Overall improvement of digital skills

• Differences regarding tasks

• Differences regarding gender (female greater

improvement)

• Control over concurrent factors?

AlpConnectar 1+

• Focus on pedagogical/didactic aspects

AlpConnectar 2

• Development of a service for all interested schools

Future prospects

René Wyssen

Thank you for your attention

www.alpconnectar.ch

Special thanks to:

James Bedding for editorial help

and to Michael Morisod, Director,

Monthey primary schools